Cooler Master V10

Huge, mediocre, and difficult to install is no way to go through life, son

The Cooler Master V10 is a monster. It weighs two pounds, 10 ounces, stands 6.3x9.3x5.1 inches, and contains one thermoelectric cooler, two fans, and two heatsinks: one on the CPU and one on the TEC. The TEC, which needs to be powered by a 4-pin Molex on a dedicated power lead, activates only when needed.

The Cooler Master V10 is two and a half pounds of frustration.

The V10’s installation is the worst we’ve ever experienced. Two retention clips attach to the cooler, which you then attach to a bracket you mount on the back side of the motherboard. This means removing your motherboard and balancing the cooler on your lap while you screw it in. Unfortunately, the V10 is so huge that it blocks the motherboard’s top three ATX screws, making it difficult to mount the motherboard in even the roomiest cases. And the V10’s bulk made it difficult to connect both the 8-pin and the 24-pin motherboard power cables on our test system’s motherboard—impressive, since they’re on opposite sides of the motherboard.

The V10’s RAM fan means you have to remove the cooler to remount your memory, and DIMMs with cooling vanes, like Corsair’s Dominators, are likely to be bumped by the V10’s overhanging radiator. Indeed, the first few times we tried to install the V10, our machine wouldn’t POST due to RAM seating issues. It wasn’t until we replaced our tall DIMMs with shorter sticks, and removed the optional backplane bracket to mount the cooler (which can warp the motherboard), that we could even get our system to start.

Ultimately, the V10 offers nothing to recommend itself. It’s a nightmare to install in most machines—the only exceptions are cases with motherboard tray cutouts behind the CPU. Plus, its performance is merely mediocre: Our favorite air cooler, the Zalman CNPS9900, outcools it easily in both idle and full burn (by three and five degrees, respectively). The Zalman cooler is also smaller, $60 cheaper, easier to install, and requires less power.

Cooler Master V10

V8

Offers decent cooling. RAM fan is a bonus.

V1

Outperformed in every way by cheaper, easier-to-install products.

4

Benchmarks

Cooler Master V10

Zalman CNPS9900

Stock Cooler

Idle (C)

30

27

32.25

100% Burn (C)

47.75

42

61

Best scores are bolded. Idle temperatures were measured after an hour of inactivity; load temperatures were measured after an hour’s worth of CPU Burn-In (four instances). Test system consists of a stock-clock Q6700 processor on an EVGA 680i motherboard.

MaximumPC, please do some reviews of the Scythe heatsinks which are irrifutably king of the hill for silence, and for sheer cooling power offer up some comparisons to the Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer, Xigmatech 1283 series, the Thermalright Ultra 120 to this day can run with ANY aircooling solution, or if you insist on going the Coolermaster route, why not show the Hyper Z600? These examples are among countless others mind you that haven't spent a single penny on advertising on your magazine but utterly obliterate any of the coolermaster or zalman CPU heatsinks you've reviewed in recent months/years... (This subtle hint brought to you by your local sledge-hammer provider!)

All of the CPU heatsink reviews I've ever seen done here are painfully isolated, tell you nothing about the actual quality of the heatsink itself nor the parameters that quality should be judged by, the methodology by which the results are determined is simply omitted, and the final word gives no actual weight by which to compare and contrast against the truly good cooling solutions out there.

This of course isn't for my sake, but the benefit of others so that they can be informed not only about this product, but others, and the differences between them. Not only is it important to know if a product is good, it's just as important to know WHY it is or is not, and what they should be looking for rather than gimmick nonsense, even if that same retailer does indeed make some decent products. I and many others can readily fend for outselves, but EVERYONE has to start at the beginning sometime, and it is important to make sure that those who are beginning are given the firmest footing on their initial step toward becoming truly informed on the subject.

What kind of engineering went into the development of this hunk of crap, I mean exactly what MB was this designed to fit and did anyone at CoolerMaster try to install this monstrosity in any case, I doubt it. The best thing that can happen is, it doesn't sell, gets scrapped and designers are canned.